LEAWOOD, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tallgrass Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: TEP) today announced strategic
acquisitions by its Terminals and Water Services businesses and several
significant commercial deals that expand and strengthen its Pony Express
crude oil pipeline position in the regions it serves. Since the
Company’s Q1 2017 earnings call on May 2, Tallgrass Energy has now
announced or completed acquisitions and growth projects of approximately
$350 million.

“Today’s announcements clearly demonstrate TEP’s expansive footprint and
ability to grow through strategic and accretive acquisitions as well as
through organic commercial development,” said David G. Dehaemers Jr.,
Tallgrass Energy President and Chief Executive Officer. “These
acquisitions and growth projects enable us to help our customers grow
their businesses.”

Strategic Acquisitions

Tallgrass Terminals

Tallgrass Terminals, LLC (“Tallgrass Terminals”) recently acquired an
additional 49 percent interest in the Deeprock Development (“Deeprock”)
crude oil terminal at Cushing, Okla., increasing its total membership
interest to 69 percent, for a purchase price of approximately $70
million. Deeprock is a 2.3-million-barrel crude oil storage facility in
which Kinder Morgan, Inc. (11 percent) and Deeprock Energy Resources (20
percent) remain joint venture partners. Deeprock will continue to be
operated by Deeprock Energy. By increasing its ownership to 69 percent,
Tallgrass Terminals assumes significant strategic and commercial control
over Deeprock. In conjunction with the acquisition, Tallgrass Pony
Express Pipeline, LLC (“Pony Express”) signed an amended lease agreement
with Deeprock, reducing its recurring lease charges by an estimated $5
million per year, beginning on July 1, 2017. Tallgrass believes the
acquisition will allow it to more effectively pursue the development and
growth of its potential crude oil terminal project located on 550 acres
in South Cushing, by utilizing some of the existing infrastructure of
Deeprock to offer many different services between the two terminals.

Water Services

Tallgrass subsidiary BNN Water Solutions, LLC (“BNN”) recently acquired
a 63 percent interest in an entity that owns freshwater facilities in
Weld County, Colo., for $7 million, with a commitment to invest up to an
additional approximately $10.5 million in the system over the next few
months. We believe these facilities will allow BNN to better serve
existing and potential new producer customers in the region.

Organic Growth Projects

Successful Pony Express Platteville Extension Open Season

Pony Express recently held a binding open season to secure committed
shipper contracts for crude oil transportation of a new common stream on
the proposed extension of Pony Express from Tallgrass Terminals’s
Buckingham receipt point to a new origin near Platteville, Colo. Pony
Express received new short-haul and long-haul binding transportation
commitments totaling approximately 30,000 barrels per day from multiple
counterparties to support the construction of the Platteville Extension.
In conjunction with Pony Express's development of the Platteville
Extension, Tallgrass Terminals will upgrade the Buckingham terminal and
build a new terminal in Platteville. The approximately 55-mile extension
of Pony Express is expected to begin operations in Q2 2018. Tallgrass
Terminals is also moving forward with the development of the new
Grasslands Terminal in Platteville, which is expected to be complete in
Q4 2018, and will enable Pony Express to batch multiple common streams
out of Platteville. Once the Grasslands Terminal is complete, the
Platteville Extension is expected to have a capacity of approximately
80,000 barrels per day. The Platteville Extension and Grasslands
Terminal, when complete, will provide Pony Express’s shippers and
refinery markets with the interconnectivity to source the abundant
pipeline-gathered barrels available in the most active drilling region
of the DJ basin.

New Pony Express Refinery Connections

Pony Express signed an agreement with CHS, Inc. to connect the 100,000
barrels per day CHS McPherson, Kan., refinery to Pony Express’s
mainline. Pony Express has agreed to build connection facilities
designed to supply the refinery with multiple common streams of crude
oil. Completion of the facilities is expected by the end of the year.

In addition to the CHS connection, construction is progressing on the
Holly Frontier El Dorado refinery connection facilities, with completion
expected in Q4 2017.

Upon completion of the two new refinery connections, shippers on Pony
Express will be able to deliver more than 300,000 barrels per day to
three significant refineries directly connected to Pony Express,
inclusive of the refinery in Ponca City, Okla. that is already connected
to Pony Express.

New Pony Express Supply Connection

Tallgrass Terminals has a signed, 10-year take-or-pay agreement from a
new customer to support the construction of a new terminal in the
Central Kansas Uplift. Pony Express, in turn, will establish a new
supply connection at the new Kansas terminal and another new common
stream of crude oil on its mainline. Tallgrass Terminals will build
terminaling facilities designed to receive Kansas crude oil production
with delivery capabilities in excess of 20,000 barrels per day into the
Pony Express mainline. Completion of the facilities is expected in Q1
2018.

Upon completion of these projects, Pony Express will have six different
supply sources and five different streams of crude oil capable of being
batched on the system.

Pony Express and Tallgrass Terminals expect to invest approximately $145
million in total capital for the construction of the Platteville
Extension, Grasslands Terminal, upgrades to the Buckingham Terminal, the
CHS and Holly Frontier El Dorado refinery connections and the new Kansas
terminal and Pony Express receipt point.

“We believe all of this work further positions Pony Express as the most
diverse and capable crude oil transportation and logistics system in the
regions in which it operates,” said Matt Sheehy, Tallgrass Energy Chief
Commercial Officer. “Diversity of supply and delivery points, multiple
batch shipment capability, readily available expansion capacity and an
attractive tariff rate solidify Pony Express as a critical part of the
country’s crude oil midstream infrastructure that will be utilized for
decades to come.”

Growing 2017 Acquisition and Growth Capital
Program

In addition to the approximately $350 million in acquisitions and growth
projects announced or completed since May 2, 2017, Tallgrass is
evaluating and developing an additional $200 million in potential
projects and acquisitions that could be announced later this year.

Second Quarter 2017 Conference Call

Tallgrass Energy plans to report second quarter 2017 financial results
on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017, after market close and hold a conference
call at 3:30 p.m. Central Time that same day. Tallgrass Energy expects
to provide additional details on these and other developments during the
conference call on Aug. 2.

About Tallgrass Energy

Tallgrass Energy is a family of companies that includes publicly traded
partnerships Tallgrass Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: TEP) and Tallgrass
Energy GP, LP (NYSE: TEGP), and privately held Tallgrass Development,
LP. Operating across 10 states, Tallgrass is a growth-oriented midstream
energy operator with transportation, storage, terminal and processing
assets that serve some of the nation’s most prolific crude oil and
natural gas basins.

Disclosures in this press release contain forward-looking statements.
All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in
this press release that address activities, events or developments that
management expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the
future are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality
of the foregoing, forward-looking statements contained in this press
release specifically include the ability of TEP and its subsidiaries to
design, construct and build a crude oil terminal located in South
Cushing, Okla., whether the Platteville Extension, the Grasslands
Terminal facility, the connection to CHS, Inc.'s refinery, the
connection to Holly Frontier's El Dorado facility or the terminal
facilities to receive Kansas crude oil production will be constructed on
time, on budget, or at all and, if constructed, the capacity of such
projects, the extent to which Pony Express will be utilized in future
years, and whether TEP and its subsidiaries will be able to complete any
additional acquisitions or expenditures later this year or at all. Such
statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of TEP, which may
cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or
expressed by the forward-looking statements, and other important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected, including those set forth in reports filed by TEP with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement
applies only as of the date on which such statement is made and TEP does
not intend to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by law.